Love's Crash Course
by MegaTJ
Summary: Gale and Gust of Canyon Run have always had each other in the hardest of times. However, one day in Ponyville brings a change in their lives. Will the twins turn their back on each other for a couple of fillies, or worse, will their attitudes lead them to a shattering heartbreak?
1. Sugary Sweet Winds

Sugary Sweet Winds

The wind currents blowing between the two towns of Canyon Run and Ponyville cooled the air of the warm morning, providing two Pegasi with a comforting flight path to the latter town. Both late-risers drifted drowsily on the winds of the early morning, yawning along the way. Neither had anything to say to the other, for they were caught up in their own thoughts. The older Pegasus thought over what tricks he would show off to the ponies of Ponyville. His brother simply ran over calculations for new ways to break vortex barriers by using applied physics. It was only their second trip to the rural town, and they would have gotten lost if not for the simple directions of flying east to get there.

"Man, why do we have to go get Sprinkle from her slumber party?" whined Gale over the wind.

"Because, my brother, Cloud has moved out of Canyon Run and since Sprinkle still lives within Canyon Run, we must be responsible siblings and return her home while mother works", Gust explained haughtily.

"I know that, know it all! But why so early!?"

"_You_ were the one who wanted to arrive early so we could demonstrate to Ponyville's Pegasi and I quote 'our awesome moves and stuff'."

Gale clammed up. Arguing with Gust was sort of like what his brother always said about the laws of motion: for every complaint, there was an equal and opposite retort. Succumbing to Gust's superior debating skills, no matter how many times, never once taught Gale a lesson. In a few hours there would be another opportunity to learn one. They continued east until mountains grew out of the ground, shrinking the perspective of the two colts down to miniscule sizes. It wasn't much longer before the snowcapped summits gave way to a large sheltering Ponyville from the outside plains.

The flight path the twins took arched downwards to the center. Upon breaking the tropopause, they spiraled around the other, creating a cone shaped vortex that propelled them into near transonic speeds. Gale pulled forward inverted then let his momentum fall into free spinning backflips. Gust shot forward, put himself in Gale's trajectory, and, when his brother was in range, grabbed the lighter blue pony. Together they spun down to the ground, stopped just before face planting, and shot back up with an explosive tailwind that kicked dust up higher than the rooftops.

Gale looked around. "Where's our cheers?"

"Probably still asleep in their homes." Gust rolled his eyes. "As I had told you they would be."

"Ugh, whatever", he snapped. "Let's just get to Cloud's. He'll tell us where Sprinkle is."

"A detail told to us by our mother." Gust started in the opposite direction. "She is, if I remember correctly, sleeping in the barn of Sweet Apple Acres with her friends."

"Then let's get going!" Gale rushed to take the lead. "Where is it?"

"East from here. I'm sure a large orchard of apple trees will indicate whether or not we've gone far enough."

The darker pony rolled his eyes. Here he was yet again in his brother's shadow. If he loved the attention as much as his twin, Gust might have had a problem being in the dark. It was a good thing—probably for everypony—that he preferred the atmosphere of a quiet laboratory than the earsplitting screams of fillies shouting his name. The only time he ever enjoyed an audience was when he ever got to show off his knowledge of applied physics. He smiled in remembrance of the first time he ever introduced no-fuse fireworks. That was a time he would never forget accidentally setting his tail on fire. The memories lead him back to some of his recent and current projects. To allow his mind to focus less on flying and more on his formulas, he slowly drifted to the ground. Gust's senses hollowed to the point of blocking out reality altogether. As a result, Gale and his simple mind didn't notice leaving him behind.

Gust's body moved on its own while he made himself comfortable in the confines of his head. With each step farther into the streets of Ponyville, his attention dulled even more. He soon wandered into the town's sweets district. Passing the area's trademark, Sugarcube Corner, he kept trotting along. The smaller establishments of candies and ice creams had no more effect on him than the first. That was the case, until he discovered that one of the shops was installing an extension, right in his walking path.

_CRASH!_

Gust tripped head first over a sack of sugar. He kept going until the physics he held so dear made absolutely sure that he effectively destroyed a wooden bucket, sent countless ingredients into the air, and landed square on the pony setting it all up. Shock kept him from fully bringing himself out of his mental science land, so the squirming pony under his back didn't actually get through until he completely processed what had happened. The second everything set in, he rolled over onto his hooves as fast as he could and helped the pony up.

"My apologies", he grunted, lifting more than half of his share of her weight, "I was very absorbed in my thoughts to notice you."

"It'th okay", replied Peppermint Twist, "Nopony got hurt."

The Pegasus looked curiously at the pony he had just accidentally assaulted. She was a young Earth Pony, no older than himself, though maybe a few hairs shorter. Her soft mint coat vibrantly accented her curly scarlet mane and tail while her pink eyes shone deeply behind her violet glasses. Her smile showed signs of healthy dental habits. He felt the muscle in his chest tighten at the sight of her. Only in his physics magazines and news articles did he ever see a girl so intelligent-looking. He extended his hoof out once more, this time in greeting.

"I'm Continental Gust."

Twist happily completed the gesture. "Peppermint Twitht. Are you new in Ponyville?"

He nodded. "Yes, but I haven't moved in. I live in Canyon Run. I'm only here to make sure my sister makes it back home safe with my brother, wherever he might have flown…" One glace around the surrounding destruction forced him to continue. "Would you like help cleaning? It was my fault there is even a mess to clean anyway."

"Sure. I wath only getting ready for today anyway." She stooped to scoop up the candies that had somehow scattered out into a sugary minefield over the street.

Seeing how many there were to pick up, Gust also saw his chance to show off a little. He shot into the air and circled the airspace above the block. Without Gale to assist him, the colt could only manage a very thin tornado. It was a good thing what he had to gather in his funnel cloud were light candies and nothing more. His speed combined with his varying diameters created a vortex just powerful enough to pull all of the round sweets into a single pile in front of the stand he thankfully didn't turn to a pile of splintered wood. When he finished he landed just in time to hear the last of his applause. Twist spun around and looed in his vision as the dizziness reigned in his head. Motion sickness wasn't much of a factor for he was much too excited to pay any mind to anything that wasn't the grateful filly.

"That wath imprethive!"

Gust swept the few candies that escaped the pile back onto their mountainous prison with a few swipes of his tail. "Thank you. I usually cannot produce such a twister without the help of my brother."

Twist hadn't yet returned to collecting the candy. What he did was one of the coolest, and nicest, things she had ever seen. Gust didn't seem to mind cleaning up his mess by himself, and she had the feeling that he may not have let her lend a hoof anyway. The candy was back in its un-shattered jar a few moments later, leaving the two with a silence to share. Twist thought over ways to thank this new Pegasus, and found one when her wandering eyes avoided his face and stopped on a bowl of sample sweets.

Ignoring her sign that asked ponies to take only one, she picked out one each of the multicolored candies and held them out for him. "Thethe are for you! Welcome to Ponyville, Gutht!"

He gladly accepted the candy. The way her lisp punctuated his name rang adorably in his ears a bit. He stored most of the round confectionaries under his left wing, as he wasn't about to leave anytime soon. The one that he left out sported a white stripe running through its translucent sides. He ripped the wrapper from it and placed it on his tongue like he did to savor all new tastes. An electrifying sensation washed over his mouth. He widened his eyes in surprise.

Twist leaned forward. "Do you like it?"

"I've never before tasted a candy so perfect!" He closed his eyes and rose into the air on his hind legs. He got back down and smiled wider than he had ever smiled for anypony. "Did you make them yourself?"

She nodded. "Those are my newest recipe for basic fruit candies."

"Amazing. I suppose that was orange I just tasted? I also noticed hints of cream."

A second nod. "That's right! Usually ponies can't taste everything in my candy."

"You've certainly done your best to create a new taste using the given elements. When I stop giving it my full attention I find that the blend of ingredients are spectacular."

Twist blushed bashfully. "Oh, it can't be that good."

"Modesty shouldn't be a factor here; you deserve every molecule of pride that I know you feel." Gust felt strange for giving away so many compliments, whether he meant them or not. He usually never even noticed other ponies let alone found anything about them to praise. This particular pony was a very rare exception. She appealed to his chemist side like no other pony before her. He was just about to go on when somepony interrupted.

"There you are!" yelled Gale from the sky above. "Why did you bail on me like that!?"

"I—"

"Never mind! I found Sweet Apple Acres, let's get going! Sprinkle's waiting!" Gale didn't let his brother even have a moment to say goodbye to his new friend before dragging him by the tail into the air.

"I'll see you later, Twist!" He managed before losing sight of her. He thought he saw her wave just before clearing the corner of a building, but was more worried about losing the candies she gave him to think too much about it. He gathered them all from under his wing, broke free from his twin, and followed the showoff carefully so as not to drop them. That's when he noticed his brother was shouting at him.

"Hello! Equestria to Gust! Anypony in that big head?!"

"Did you want something?" he snapped.

"I asked who that pony was like a hundred times!"

"A new friend." Gust kept his hooves low to keep the candy from the eyes of Gale.

"Friend? Since when do you care about friends? You don't even hang out with the eggheads at that physics place!"

"None of them are as interesting as Twist." He smiled to himself and added under his breath, "Or as pretty."

**Ooh, it looks like the first chapter brings the first crush. I wonder what will happen in the second chapter, or even the third!**

**Sorry for the delay. It took me forever to get the cover for this story done.**

**Trivia:**

**Gale and Gust are two of my longest developed characters appearance-wise. It took me forever to figure out what I wanted them to look like.**

**I typed almost this whole chapter at my new college between classes. An efficient way to manage time, yes?**


	2. Sensational Singing Splendor

Sensational Singing Splendor

Sometime after Gust's introduction to Peppermint Twist, he found himself flying somewhat behind his brother, who was spouting endless boasts of his flying talents. He sighed, having finally realized exactly what a bore it was to be at the epicenter of such nonsense. The only thing he wished was to go back to the ground where that pretty filly was undoubtedly pleasing ponies with pieces of pleasant pleasures also known as candy to those who aren't so partial to alliteration. It wasn't long before his longing and thoughtful expression was noticed by somepony else.

Gale stopped abruptly to grab his brother's face. "Okay, dude, seriously. Why are you acting all kinds of out there?"

Annoyed at his sibling's face-grabbing hooves and even more so at his prying, Gust sighed, "I'm reflecting on the short-lived moments I had spent with my new friend before being oh so-rudely pried away from her, if you must know." The only thing he received as a reply was a nearly terror-stricken stare. He pulled his face from his twin's grip. "What?"

"Dude! Don't tell me ya gotta crush on that filly! Ugh! I shoulda known when I saw the goo-goo eyes and mushy looks! That's it! We're ruined!"

"Settle down, Drama Queen. My affections are still my own. I don't believe a few seconds alone with an interesting filly are hardly enough time to develop feelings toward her", Gust lied through every one of his teeth. Deep down he knew that Gale was right, but couldn't kill his own flesh and blood with the news that his heart may now be somewhere else than helping said flesh and blood showoff to the many ponies of Equestria.

"You can't lie to me, Bro", Gale retorted, "Your ear twitches when you lie, remember?"

"Horsefeathers…fine. So what? Yes, I may find a filly's presence warm and pleasing, so why does that call for your outbursts?"

"Because now you're gonna spend all your time with her and who's gonna be my wingman? Huh? Sprinkle can barely fly and now that Cloud's moved out to the sticks, there's nopony else at home but Mom!"

"Don't worry, my ill-tempered brother, I still intend to fly with you. To the ends of the winds. Just like before."

Gale didn't look even a smidgen more convinced. If anything his frown sunk even deeper into his features. For several tense, hoof-crossed seconds, the twins looked into their near-reflections. Instead of exploding with another exclamation, the older twin merely sighed heavily. He turned around and continued to the apple tree-covered hills of their destination. It was hurtful for Gust to see the darker blue Pegasus in such a sour mood. Especially so since the angry pony was his closest and, up until only a few minutes ago, only friend. To take his mind off of his brother's mood, Gust unwrapped another of Twist's samples. This one was dark green with a white stripe similar to the previous one.

While he enjoyed his apple cream candy, Gale found more and more reasons to be angry with the pony behind him. In his irrational mind, the hotheaded Pegasus felt his brother should only spend time with him and, on the rare occasion, the rest of their family. Gale was more than half the reason ponies even knew Gust's name. By showing off in a pair, the two grew popular among the fliers of Canyon Run. Now that Twist had taken his other half away, Gale would have to come up with his own stunts and lose the addition of the special effects that Gust concocted using his vast knowledge of physics and chemistry. Such a loss would impact his crowd-drawing abilities pretty hard and result in a drop in the numbers of ponies who watch him. That was not something that sat comfortably with the colt's need for attention.

They kept flying through the orchard in silence, much to Gust's dismay. Every second Gale was seething was a new rung lower on the torture ladder. He had twenty trees ago run out of candy and was now reduced to stress-eating the apples they passed over. Unknown to him, Gale's short attention span had brought his mind to other places and was no longer upset with him. Soon after he had eaten well over six apples, they came upon the Cutie Mark Crusader's clubhouse. It didn't seem as if anypony was yet awake; the sun was still only barely above the horizon after all. Nevertheless, that didn't deter the brothers one bit.

The two landed near the tree line to rest their overworked wings. Feeling the soft grass under his hooves, Gust knew it was time to confront and apologize to Gale. He just couldn't take the pressure anymore. "Gale", he said as calmly as a shaken pony could.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorr—"

"Don't worry about it, man. You just better keep flyin' with me."

"I told you I would."

"Good, then we don't have a problem." Gale started for the clubhouse's stairs. "Especially since I would never, ever, EVER get a crush on a filly. I mean—"

His voice derailed so suddenly Gust thought he went deaf. A few seconds later he realized that his sense of hearing was perfectly fine upon hearing the soft melody of a singing pony. He traced the sound waves through the air and found them coming from a white unicorn emerging from the clubhouse's front door. Her tune soothed the ears of both of the boys, but it completely captivated Gale. She hadn't seen either of them, mainly because she sang to the morning with closed eyes.

Gust looked back and forth from the filly to his dumbstruck sibling. He saw nothing about the way her curly pink and white mane fell ever-so-slightly over her face or the way her color-blank fur shone in the sunlight that was remotely enchanting. However, Gale was so entranced he was nearly swaying on the tips of his hooves. The filly opened her eyes with intentions to look at the sky. Upon seeing she was now also to see them, Gale grabbed Gust by the shoulders and dragged him into a nearby bush.

"Gale, what has—?"

"Shh! Quiet you idiot!" hissed the older twin. "Do you want her to hear us?"

Gust knew instantly from his brother's flushed face what had gotten into him. He smiled cheekily. "'Never ever ever' was it?"

Gale's eyes flared in anger. "Shut it!"

"Temper, temper", tsked Gust, "At least have the pride to say it." He watched as the pony across the bush clench his teeth. It was so amusing to watch Gale admit hypocrisy, though he should've been used to it after seeing the act repeated several times a week.

"I like the way she looks", he seethed, "And I think her singing is kinda cool…"

Gust snickered. "I suppose that will do."

"Dude…could ya introduce me?"

"Come again?"

"Please, I don't wanna look like an idiot."

Gust now officially loved his position right now. Gale had left himself wide open and didn't even realize it. He figured now was as best a time as any to get a little payback for years of teasing. "Then you should not have gotten out of bed this morning."

"Seriously!" pleaded the now entreating Pegasus. "I've never talked to a girl like that before!"

"Because they all run away, of course", said Gust devilishly. Revenge was definitely sweet.

Though he had just been smacked with another, this time more relevant, insult Gale kept the begging up like a tidal wave building height. "Come on…I'll owe ya one! A big one! Anything!"

Gust couldn't believe his luck. First he gets every opportunity to torture his twin, and now that same twin was practically ready to sell him his soul just for a simple favor. If he were anymore evil, Gust would have refused Gale's request, or perhaps really have asked for his brother's soul, but instead became fond of having something over the hothead for once.

"I do hope you realize what an imposition this is for me."

"Whatever, just do it!"

Gust climbed out of the bush while going over the possibilities of what he could call in for his favor. Most of them were for revenge, but he did have one or two actual things he could use Gale to do for him. He stopped thinking about them; he had broken the five foot radius most ponies got within to meet and greet others.

"Good morning", he said politely.

"Good morning", she replied skeptically, having seen his appearance from the vegetation, "Uh…what were you doing in that bush?"

"Having a discussion with a family member."

Just to check, Sweetie looked past him to find that there was no pony else to be found. "…I hope it wasn't the bush?"

"Sorry?" He followed her gaze to the area around them and saw that Gale didn't follow. He sighed in irritation. "Gale, I do believe I require your presence to introduce you!"

Sweetie slowly backed away from this crazed stranger. Talk was going around about weirder-than-Ponyville-weird ponies in Ponyville and wanted nothing to do with them. Only when she saw a blur streak out from the bush did she stop. Her eyes watched it fly across the sky, complete several loop-de-loops and corkscrews, and finally slide to a halt just behind Gust. With his proudest pose and his shyest smile, this new colt nudged the first to go on.

"I am Continental Gust, Sprinkle's brother from Canyon Run. And this is my twin brother, Lightning Gale." He presented the colt to her, allowing him to take a hesitant step forward.

"Uh…hey, there", Gale squeaked, "I…liked your song."

"Thanks", replied the unicorn with uncertainty. "I didn't know anypony was listening."

"My brother rarely compliments anypony", Gust explained, "So you'll have to excuse his hesitance to do so. Considering he actually—"

"I…liked your song", repeated the nervous Pegasus. "Do you sing a lot?"

It was hard to turn down the compliments, even if she was somewhat embarrassed to have somepony she didn't know like them. Since ponies other than her friends rarely ever heard her singing voice, let alone a colt near her age, praises were hard to come by. The ones that she received from this new Pegasus struck the heart strings in her chest so delicately she nearly lost blood flow from the skipped beats. "Not in front of other ponies…"

Gust backed away to let the two have their conversation. To him it seemed as if the filly was only talking to his brother out of pity; the way Gale stuttered left and right didn't exactly make him seem charismatic or even remotely interesting, but for some reason, she still replied to him. He decided to use that as his cue to take his leave. Somewhere back in Ponyville there was another filly he wanted badly to get back to.

As he flew away, the remaining Pegasus finally discovered that he didn't have to be constantly nervous to speak to Sweetie Belle. "Yeah, I usually just sing in the shower", he chuckled, "So…you gotta name right?"

"Sweetie Belle", she answered.

"Nice…" That's where the colt stopped. He had absolutely nothing to talk about. He turned for some kind of help from Gust and was dismayed greatly to see his partner disappeared on him. Scratching the back of his head uneasily, returned his gaze back to the filly. Instant relief helped melt the block of chilling anxiety when he noticed a smile had grown under her nose.

It was a good thing for him that she happened to be the sister of one of Ponyville's biggest romantics because she could see instantly that he had taken a liking to her. Even better for him was the fact that Sweetie Belle liked having somepony taking a liking to her. If she knew what she thought she knew, then there was surely going to be more compliments for her in the future should she allow him to hang out with her. "Have you ever been to Sugarcube Corner?"

He shook his head. "No. Never even been to Ponyville before."

She smiled. "Then let me show you around."

**That's right! Two crushes for the price of one story!**

**In other news, I just got my first art commission! It's a small project for a wedding, but I'm still so excited!**

**Trivia:**

**As you'll find later on in the updates, all of Cloud's family have more than one name. What the others are I won't spoil right now.**


	3. Double Date Deciding

Double Date Deciding

Gust followed Ponyville's warm updrafts back into the heart of the town. As he coasted over the buildings' roofs, the colt pondered what he should say to the Twist when he returned. She was more than likely not counting on him coming back, so he had that element at the least to help him start a new conversation. If nothing else, he could always do what Gale does every day of his life and make it up as he goes along. Gust thought back to the days his mother attempted to make the two more sociable among other ponies and not just each other.

"I wholly regret refusing to make friends", he told himself in an almost scolding tone, "That skill would provide most useful today…"

He banked left around a flock of geese and then slowly descended down into the familiar street he had departed from no more than a half hour ago. His hooves touched down with a slight skid. Ignoring his rocky landing, Gust turned the corner of what looked like an animal shelter to find Twist sitting at her candy stand just as she was before. When he took a step closer, Gust froze. Earlier he met her suddenly, but now that he fully realized that she was a girl, nervousness rooted him right at the corner of the building. Luckily for him, Twist was too busy fiddling with something under the stand to notice the rigid colt.

Gust's attempted breath caught in his throat. Now he couldn't even breathe, which in turn caused his heart to erupt with speed and drown out all noises that weren't in his head. Slowly but surely, as the oxygen in his lungs became carbon dioxide, the Pegasus's nervousness lost its grip on him. Soon he once again had feeling in his hooves. In order to prevent another seize-up, Gust did something he hated to do, no matter how effective it was to keep his heart under control. He filled his body with as much air as he possibly could, stood on the tips of his hooves and, just like Gale always did prior to an aerial showoff, shot a glare straight up into the sky. He held his threatening pose for several seconds, until the confidence he was begging for flooded his body.

Twist was still busy sorting sweets behind her counter to see Gust approaching. He observed her curiously in silence, careful not to let his shadow fall on her. An idea popped into his head after a few seconds of awkwardly watching her. He smiled warmly while he withdrew three bits wedged deep in his feathers. He let them drop to the countertop loudly. Twist quickly looked up, clearly startled at the sudden noise. However, her start lasted for half a second before she saw who was standing in front of her. Gust watched her eyes lighten up behind her glasses.

"What could three bits purchase from a great candy maker like yourself?"

Her gaze wandered between him, the bits, and the bags of candy she had stashed beside her. "Hmm…I thupothe six of any of these." She brought out four different hooffulls of the candy he could afford. "Or, one of these." She reached down and placed on the counter a six-inch rope of purple taffy.

Gust studied his options. Each candy underwent a ten to fifteen second inspection of their outward appearances, flavor possibilities, and three or four other things that no other pony would probably have remotely considered for selecting. His decision finalized itself as he slowly grouped the solid colored candies on his half of the counter. "I choose these six", he told her.

At first, Twist didn't move to slide the bits into her strongbox. Gust was the first pony to fully critique her work, and she wanted to know what his full process was. Almost as closely as he examined the candy, she watched him unwrap a red one. Gust's eyes closed the moment the sweet touched his tongue. His mouth turned his way and that as he worked the candy around his taste buds. Since they had met only that day, Twist seriously doubted that he was exaggerating for brownie points. She could never guess in what field, but a pony as well-spoken as Gust had to be a professional at something. Turning away from his possible careers, Twist snapped out of her reverie just in time to see his eyes open.

"A cherry base, probably juice or extract, boiled with a hint of sugar then flash frozen", he stated, giving his observation.

"Incredible!" Twist exclaimed, "How in Equethtria did you know that!"

"Chemistry is my second most experted field of science. I may be younger than most leading professionals, but I study it obsessively. There are few concoctions that I cannot define in one way or another."

Twist was too amazed to notice the fake word he caught himself saying only after finishing his sentence, much to his relief. Her eyes were stretched open as far as they would go, making a blush appear on the colt's cheeks. He looked away, unable to withstand her focused attention. Gust's embarrassment rang so loudly in his head that it took Twist several tries to get his attention after she found herself staring.

"Oh, sorry", he apologized, "What did you say?"

"I asked if you were going home soon", she repeated.

"Uh…I…well, my mother didn't inform me of a curfew, so I would suppose not. Why do you ask?"

A light blush settled atop the filly's cheeks. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out at my house." He looked uncertain, so she quickly added, "Or I could show you around Ponyville!"

The second sounded better to the Pegasus. He was likely to be spending more time in Ponyville now that he made a new friend who lived there, and knowing where everything was would be an advantage in the long run. "I wouldn't mind a tour. Although, what about your business? You can't possibly leave it unattended."

"I don't know about 'business'", she giggled, "But I'll take the candy home before we start. That way nopony can steal it while we're gone."

"Would you like a helping hoof?" he asked, more out of fear of what his mother would do to him should she find he wasn't being chivalrous than politeness, though for Twist he would have done it regardless of knowing of future punishment. "You do have a few bags to carry."

Twist smiled. "Thanks!" She heaved the heaviest across to him, leaving two for her.

Gust balanced the sack on his back. Twist did the same with one of hers, and grabbed the last in her mouth. Wanting to keep conversation along the way, Gust used the wing he didn't have candy under to grab the one on her back. It was lighter than his taffy bag, allowing for much less strain on his wing than he first thought. "So we can talk", he said to answer her questioning glance. She soon had her only bag draped over her back, and then they were off for her home, in the opposite direction of a certain sibling of Gust.

**GG**

Sugarcube Corner had been open no more than a few minutes when Sweetie Belle and Gale trotted through the door. The Pegasus tried to keep up his confident side, but just ended up overdoing it to the point of spitting stuttered gibberish everytime he opened his mouth. Sweetie Belle didn't seem to mind. She knew that it meant her effect over him was holding. She found them a seat near the entrance and together they sat down.

Gale took a moment to collect as many of his scattered thoughts as he could with a couple of deep breaths. The silence could have been broken by either of them, but the awkwardness of the situation held their tongues like a vice. Thankfully, it wasn't long before a unicorn appeared at the side of the table.

"Hey, Sweetie Belle", said the newest member of the Sugarcube Corner team, "What can I get ya so early?"

With a reason to finally say something, Sweetie turned her attention away from the hyperventilating colt for the perfectly calm one. "Just a couple of shakes, Strings."

"How about a paper bag for your friend", the unicorn suggested with a raised eyebrow. "Ya okay, little bro?"

Amidst his heavy breaths, Gale nodded. Unconvinced, Strings leveled his charged horn at the younger pony. Before Gale could react, a spell shot into his chest and swam throughout his body, bringing comfort along with it. By the time it completed its journey to his hooves, he felt as relaxed as he did when he woke up that morning.

He jumped into the air. "Whoa! What did you just do!?"

Strings shrugged. "Nerve calming spell. Looked like ya needed it." He turned around. "I'll be back with those shakes in just a minute", he said on his way to the kitchen.

"So…" Gale said when he disappeared, "Shakes, huh?"

Sweetie Belle nodded, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at how even though he was much calmer now, he still didn't know how to talk to a girl. "Yeah. So you're Sprinkle's brother? What's it like in Canyon Run? She doesn't really talk about it."

"If you're a Pegasus", he said with a proud smile, "It's for you! Houses in the sides of the canyon walls, tons of airspace, and the biggest dashball court in Equestria! Even if you aren't a Pegasus, it's still awesome. Lots of bridges thousands of feet in the air, skate parks, arcades, and water balloon fight arenas!"

Sweetie Belle figured he only gave his favorite places of his home town. Good thing for him she didn't ask about anything she might like specifically about it. He'd probably never even heard of a craft shop. "What do you think of a town that's not in a canyon?"

"Ponyville's kinda quiet", he admitted, "I like a lot of noise, but it's pretty chill, I guess."

"It's not that cold", she said, missing his expression, "And the sun's not out yet, so it's going to get warmer."

Gale didn't get the chance to call her out on misunderstanding what he meant because two tall glasses filled to the brim with milkshake gently landed in front of them. "One large milkshake for you, Sweetie Belle, and for you, Sweetie Belle's friend", Strings announced politely. "That'll be a bit each."

Sweetie moved to toss the bits onto the table, but was beaten to the punch by Gale, who shook them out of his wing.

"Hey, you're Cloud's brother, aren't you", Strings asked.

"One of two of his awesome siblings!" boasted the Pegasus. "How'd you know?"

"He does the same thing when he pays for stuff", Strings chuckled, "That, and he has a picture of ya in his house."

"How can you go to his house?"

The doubt in Gale's question got Sweetie Belle thinking about it too. "Yeah, he lives in a cloud fortress like Rainbow Dash. You're not a Pegasus."

A half-smile of knowing something they didn't spread across the left side of the older unicorn's face. "Ya don't always need wings ta walk on a cloud." With that, he left the two alone together again to process what he said.

"Doesn't make sense to me. How can ya walk on a cloud without wings?" Gale took a sip of his shake with a furrowed brow.

"Maybe he uses a spell", Sweetie suggested, following suit and taking a drink of her shake too.

Gale choked. "To give himself wings!?"

"No, to walk on clouds."

He sat back down. "Oh. Be cooler if he could do what I said."

Over the next few minutes, the ponies got to know each other a little bit. It turned out that Sprinkle really loved her big brothers very much, as she told the Cutie Mark Crusaders almost every tiny detail about them. If it wasn't for that, Gale might've found how much she already knew about him sort of creepy. When their milkshakes were about halfway down, Gale had learned that Sweetie's sister owned one of the most famous boutiques in Equestria and that she got to help out on a few occasions. He also found out more about the Cutie Mark Crusaders than what his sister had talked about.

"I got my Cutie Mark last year", he claimed, "It was so awesome I didn't sleep for three straight days!"

The sting of his insensitivity turned into envy, then curiosity in a matter of two sips of her milkshake. She was so intrigued with his nervousness and interest in her that she forgot to check on that subject. "Can I see it?"

He scooted out of the booth and turned, exposing his Cutie Mark to her. It was a tornado crossed by a warm front symbol at a diagonal. "Got it because I love to make tornados. Drives a crowd wild during a performance."

"Performance?"

"Yep. I'm a stunt flier! The best in Canyon Run now that Cloud moved here!"

Sweetie rolled her eyes, along with Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash, she was beginning to wonder if all Pegasi had a big head about them. That was until she thought about Fluttershy. Not particularly liking the idea of hanging out with somepony with such a huge ego, she mulled over some ways to bring him down a few notches. Her orange Pegasus friend mentioned something about a flying competition, and knowing that Cloud and Rainbow Dash were sure to sign up too, there was no way he could win. It may not have been nice to think like that, but Sweetie Belle wanted Gale to take it down a bit. There was something about him that she liked underneath that arrogant exterior. Something that she never say in any other pony like him before, and she wanted to see what it was.

"Ponyville's holding a flying competition next Thursday. Why don't you show everypony what you can do?"

"That's awesome! I was going to do that today! Thanks for telling me. I almost showed them my moves!"

"I can go with you and we can hang out after", the plotting unicorn suggested adding under her breath, "After you lose."

A blush crossed his face. "Y-you mean like a date or something?"

Now she had him in a spot she had read about in a few romance books. "Yeah, I know a great place we can go!"

**GG**

Gust waited patiently outside Twist's home for her to return into the warm outside of Ponyville. Having refused to step hoof into her house since they still barely knew each other, he sat near the steps, idly sorting the remaining candy he bought. Twist opened the front door when he just began to worry if she was coming out at all.

He stood immediately. "You were absent for more time than I had anticipated."

"Thorry", she replied, "My mom needed some help with the dishes."

"Perhaps I should have gone in with you. At least I could have offered my assistance."

"Oh, my mom wouldn't have let you. She doesn't like it when other ponies do her work", she explained, avoiding having to tell him that the older mare would have embarrassed them both.

"Commendable attribute", he complimented.

"Where should we go first?"

Gale chuckled. "I don't know what Ponyville has to offer. That's why you're showing me around."

"Heheheh, oh yeah. Well, in that case, ith there anything you would like to know if we have?"

"Are there any science centers? More specifically physics or chemistry laboratories?"

"Hmm…I don't think so, but Twilight Sparkle would know. She's like, the most scientific pony I know!"

"To Twilight Sparkle, then!" he announced.

His enthusiasm was kind of cute, causing another giggle to ride its way out of Twist. "So, about those fireworks you were talking about."

"Ah, yes. Fuse-less. I've designed a trigger switch for each of the variations. Once flipped, depending on the amount of my special suppressing chemical, the sulfur is ignited through a heating reaction, thus causing the resulting explosion. From my findings in their research, I'll hopefully be able to move on to a larger project: cold exploding and water-based fireworks."

"That's sounds super!"

"They're only in theory as of now, but enough about me, I'd like to become better educated about you."

"Oh, I'm not that interesting…"

"A pony who can create candies like you is surely to have a very intriguing background. Although, we don't have to start with the confectionary side of your life. Tell me, do you have any brothers or sisters like me?"

Since he was considerate enough not to touch on what she considered her shyest part of life, Twist answered, "I have an older brother. He's an artist, so he's not really into candy making. My cousin Bon Bon taught me all I know, though."

"Fascinating." His mind moved on to if she had any pets, but they passed by a building that captured his attention. "What does this building hold?"

She followed his gaze to Ponyville's history museum. "Oh, that's just a museum."

"I may be a physicist", he said in reply to her disregard of the place, "But I also have a passion for history. In my opinion, learning about where Ponyville came from could help me better understand it, don't you think?"

Twist found his excitement about her hometown sweet, making her really want to spend more time with him after their tour. "I've never been before…maybe we could learn together?"

"Perfect! My schedule is full for the next few days, but Thursday is definitely free."

"Thursday is fine with me", Twist said faster than her head could make a note to remind herself to clear her schedule.

Gust nearly backflipped with excitement. He had a date with Twist, even if only a museum visit. That didn't matter, he couldn't wait until next Thursday!

**Two Thursdays with something planned…what could that possibly mean for the twins?**

**Trivia:**

**Gale and Gust share few interests, but what they do have in common is a love for sweets. Their tastes are so in-tune that just by knowing what one likes, you can usually tell if the other will too.**

**Twist's brother is a character of mine we'll be seeing in what I'm planning will be Writing Season Four, which will contain mainly OCXOC stories.**


	4. Tensions

Tensions

The sunrise that fell upon Canyon Run the next morning graced the town with a gentle warmth that evaporated the freshly fallen dew. With the aid of light to guide their paths, ponies groggily opened up their shops and homes for visitors. Near the northernmost edge of the giant plateau that held the town so far above the canyon floor was the cliff house of the Thunder family. Inside, young Sprinkle and her mother Cirrus busied themselves in the kitchen. Upstairs, Gale and Gust found more enjoyment in sleeping through the morning than doing anything productive.

The day before the colts had tired themselves out mentally over their dates with Twist and Sweetie Belle. Now they slept peacefully where they dropped the night before. Neither had mentioned their plans, for fear of jinxing themselves so early before that wonderful Thursday arrived. The only thing the colts had to fear on this particular morning was a rather rude awakening. Gale, who had fallen asleep at his chemistry table shifted in his sleep. The result of the innocent movement was sending a beaker of concentrated dinitrophenol over the edge of the table.

Any chemist already knows what happened next. The very moment the glass shattered, the contents exploded, giving a wakeup call to anypony still asleep in Canyon Run, let alone the two rubbing the ringing from their ears at ground zero.

A mare flew into the room using a door found in the floor near what used to be Gust's bed. "What happened!?" she screamed.

Gale dropped down from the wall where an end table had him pinned. "What?!"

The family spent the next few minutes trying to get a bearing on what happened. When the deafness finally faded away, Cirrus, their mother, was finally able to get an explanation. "Gust, what have I told you about this?"

The colt winced, more from the scold than the alcohol soaked bandage she placed over one of his small cuts. "I'm sorry, mother."

"You're both lucky you just got a few scrapes and scratches", she told them, "I'm glad you're okay."

"Ugh", agreed Gale, "Me too! Can I have just one, repeat _one_ morning where you don't try to kill us?"

"It was an accident, you dolt!" Gust retorted.

"Boys!"

Not another peep came from them. Cirrus was a forced to be reckoned with when her blood pressure was high, and as she returned to her EMT days to treat her foals, it wasn't going any higher. Once the bruise covering Gust's whole left hoof was bandaged, Cirrus returned her medical box to the top of the fridge. "I'm glad I sent Sprinkle out for blueberries…" She turned. "Now that I know my sons are okay, what do you want for breakfast?"

"Wait, we're not grou—"

Gust quickly stifled his brother with a jab to his sore wing. "Anything is fine, mother."

"So, what do you have planned for society today", she asked, turning to grab a few eggs from the fridge. "Aside from trying to destroy it."

"Me and Gust are going out today to practice some new moves!"

"What else is new?" she laughed. Cirrus was plenty used to her son's one-track mind. No matter what happened, Gale was going to fly, even if stricken with ponypox or the feather flu. "What about you, Gust?"

He snapped up from his thoughts. "Oh, um…I plan to continue researching an alternative to heat-based reactions for my fireworks."

"After we practice", Gale declared firmly.

Gust reclined in his chair to mull over his thoughts. And to Cirrus's surprise Gale didn't pester his brother to make sure that's exactly what they were going to do after breakfast. While the butter in her frying pan sizzled, she pondered what could be keeping the two silent. Usually she loved the quiet; three bickering foals were almost the opposite of peace and quiet, and this morning's chemistry disaster only further proved it. However Gale and Gust were seated at the table in _total_ quiet. Whatever had their tongues in a vice had her curiosity in a death grip.

Every so often, she would glance back to see two continuous stares gazing vaguely past her. "Where have I seen that look before", she asked the over-medium eggs in pan. The toaster dinged, snapping her back from her days in Cloudsdale's flight academy. She smirked; everything made sense.

By the time their breakfast had finished frying, both colts were nearly drooling in their daze. The plates Cirrus slid to them from across the table snapped them right out of it. Without so much as an acknowledgment, they started to savagely tear the eggs and toast apart. Their mother, a smug look masking her face, sat opposite of them.

She propped her face up and leaned over the table. "So...which of you boys want to tell me first."

"Tell you what, Mom?" asked Gale.

"About the little fillies you like."

Cemeteries longed for the kind of eerie stillness that filled the kitchen. The size of the boys' eyes were almost the size of their mother's grin when she decided to speak again. "Go on, tell me. Who are you two chasing after?"

"I don't like anypony", proclaimed Gale, returning to what remained of his breakfast.

"Oh, you don't, huh?"

"Not a chance!"

"What's her name, Gust?"

"Sweetie Belle, mother." The colt immediately regretted that. There was an earful from Gale with his name on it in the near future. Gale glared at him; it was way too dangerous to scream at his sibling in close quarters to Cirrus.

"Isn't she one of Breezy's friends from Ponyville?"

Gale nodded slowly. "Yeah…But Gust likes a filly too!"

"I already know that, thank you." She turned to the pony in question, who was three inches from escaping his chair and fleeing Equestria altogether. "Gust, would you care to tell me her name?"

He kept quiet, unwilling to sate his mother's hunger for embarrassing him. His gaze found something else much more interesting in the flower pot sitting on the windowsill. Though he wasn't making eye contact, the weight of his mother's patience pressed down on him in the way that it always did when he ignored it: with a vengeance. "…Peppermint Twist."

Unfamiliar with the name, Cirrus inquired, "Is she a filly from Ponyville too?"

He replied with a small nod. No longer having any remaining breakfast, Gust struggled to find something to avoid the mare he presently dreaded was his mother. Her eyes darted back and forth from him to Gale, keeping each of them glued to their chairs. "Do either of you plan to see them soon?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, the next time we gotta take Sprinkle to Ponyville."

Cirrus reclined in her chair. "Why just then? You can go whenever ya want, ya know?"

Gale shot into the air. "Seriously?"

"Yep. School's out for the summer, and you two are old enough to come and go as you please."

"Whoa! Even right now?"

"I'm not done with you yet."

"Ugh!"

"Chill out, Gale. I just want to know one more thing."

Gust shifted anxiously. "And that would be?"

"Do you plan to take them anywhere for a date? Or do I have to handle that for you?"

The tensioned that started to ease tightened tauter than before. That tidbit of personal information wasn't going to come out under the usual methods. As their mother, Cirrus knew of more ways to probe her foals for information. "I guess not. I you weren't even thinking about it."

Gale landed abruptly. "Why?"

She laughed, "_My_ sons are all way too chicken to ask a girl out."

"Hey! For your information, I'm already taking Sweetie Belle on a date after Ponyville's flying competition!"

"And I have plans with Twist, too."

"Is that right?"

Gale and Gust exchanged horrified glances. She had done it again. Cirrus had pulled every single detail she wanted to know right out of them, and, now that they had let their mouths strand them in her knowing, it was time to come forward with the exact particulars of their dates that they knew she wanted them to tell her.

"Twist and I are going to a Ponyville museum."

When Cirrus turned her attention on him, Gale took his turn. "And Sweetie Belle's taking me somewhere after I win the competition. I don't know where."

"I'm glad neither of you had planned on anything romantic for a first date. It's a good thing to get to know them first. One last thing: when are these dates?"

"Thursday."

Gust may as well have kicked his brother in the face, because the peace of the morning was officially gone. "What!?" Gale screamed. "Thursday's when the competition is! How are you going to perform with me!?"

Gale recoiled. "I-I had no ide—"

"No! You know what? Forget it! You said you were gonna keep flying by me, but you lied!" The upset Pegasus shot out of the kitchen before anypony could consider a way to calm him back down.

Gust, completely shaken, slowly turned his head back to Cirrus, who apparently was only half as shocked he was. "I-I honestly didn't know…"

She sighed. "I knew this day would come…"

"What day?"

She stood up. "Come on, I'll show you."

The living room wasn't a far walk, yet Gust still had the confusion he would've had no matter where in the house she brought him. She pointed to the pictures on the mantle and walls. "Look at the pictures of Gale and tell me what they all have in common."

He studied each of the framed photos carefully. His brother's cocky grin was one thing each of them had captured, but Gust had a feeling that wasn't what his mother wanted him to see. He kept staring around until it clicked. "He's never alone in any of them."

"Now tell me why."

Puzzled, Gust turned back to the pictures. This time, he saw something more specific about who was always in the older twin's company. "Because I am in every one of them as well. As a matter of fact, I'm not alone in any of them either…"

"That's right." Cirrus put a hoof on her son's shoulder and motioned to the photos as a whole. "Since birth you guys have always been friends. Nothing in Equestria could've ever separated you."

"And now we're being forced apart?"

She nodded. "I'm an operational forecaster not a psychologist, but I think that Gale needs your company and attention to function. Now he thinks you're abandoning him. I wasn't so worried about you because you think way more reasonably than he does. If I didn't have to work in Cloudsdale for most of the year I would've been able to ease you two away from each other."

"What do we do?"

Cirrus shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe if we can show him that he doesn't need you or that you still have his back he may not be so upset."

"I wonder…" Gale closed his eyes to think. "Perhaps it's possible to show him both…"

She liked the sound of that. "Okay, brainiac, how do we do that?"

"By using that flying competition and Sweetie Belle together. I can formulate a performance that will assure victory, then we can suggest that he and she spend that night at Cloud's home. The extended time in each other's presence will aid Gale in forgetting about our separation."

"I don't know. It's just one day…"

"Imagine what a solo victory will do for Gale's self-confidence. He'll be sure to think that he can perform on his own so he won't have to rely solely on me anymore."

The mare mulled it over. "That could work actually."

"I'll go begin the plan." He left through the still-open front door to search for Gale. The warmer air outside gave the Pegasus a little hope; the absence of cold air meant that Gale wouldn't be hesitant to head to the place he used to sulk alone. Knowing that, Gust let the windy skies carry him higher until he could no longer distinguish the ponies down below from the many griffins visiting for the upcoming week of dashball tournaments. Not many of the other winged ponies of Canyon Run acknowledged him, for most knew of his antisocial nature. That made it even easier for him to make it to the center of town, where the massive mountain ash dwarfed the town in its shade.

He evened off at its trunk, dodging branches and houses on the way to an isolated branch that overlooked Horseshoe Desert. At the end of the branch sat his fraternal twin, staring out at the sands of the arid landscape. As he did everytime Gale fell victim to his rash attitude, Gust crept across slowly. Any sudden moves could ruin his attempt at approaching his brother in a comforting manner.

"What do you want?" Gale couldn't even put all of his effort into sounding angry because he was so focused on fighting back any more tears now that he was no longer alone.

"Should you allow me, I'd like to explain myself."

"Whatever."

Gust sat beside his sibling. Starting off always became the difficult part, especially when Gale refused to let his wandering gaze settle on him. "I never intended for our plans to cross you know."

"Yeah, right."

"I couldn't have possibly known that you would even muster the courage to so much as agree to meet with her a second time, let alone a chance to explore each other's chances for deeper compatibility."

"What?"

Gust bit his lip in thought. "Err, I meant 'set a date up', I think…"

"Oh."

"I still want to assist you in the training for the competition."

Gale shot him a dirty look. "How? You can't even be there."

"I can prepare a solo flying routine guaranteed to win. I had thought that winning by your skill alone would boost your popularity in Ponyville by a much larger factor than flying with another."

"Wait", Gale replied dubiously, "You're saying that I can win without you?"

"Unless you believe that Ponyville is home to better flyers than yourself."

"What!? No way, I'm way better than they are!"

Gust smiled. "Shall we begin assuring first place for you then?"

"Hay yeah!" Gale needed no more convincing. He was already streaming for their secret training area at the far side of the town.

Gust followed posthaste, overjoyed at how well his pep talk worked. For now, there was nothing to worry about.

**A little characterization never hurt anypony.**

**And so we have another update! Hopefully I can start gathering more motivation for my writing. My art is getting more attention nowadays and I'm more focused on that, leading to these delays.**

**I hate to say it, but reviews really help keep up my writing. Praise, creative feedback, or even a simple acknowledgment that you're reading really helps.**

**One little thing, I'm also on Fimfiction, so if you'd like to support me there, I'd really appreciate it.**

**As always, thanks for reading and I'll see ya next time!**

**Trivia:**

**Gale and Gust's inseparable relationship was inspired by an episode of Full House, where Jesse learns that his twins need other friends to avoid complications later in life.**

**Cirrus is extremely childish, as can be seen from her farming of embarrassment in this chapter, to the point of actually playing pranks on ponies twice (and sometime half) her age for a good laugh.**


End file.
